Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said the Rail Enforcement Unit (REU) which provides an additional 100 law enforcement officers to Metrorail’s existing security personnel has been a success.
REU was launched by the national minister of transport in October last year, coinciding with transport month.
The unit is jointly funded by the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and have increased visibility on trains and stations, searching more individuals during joint operations, confiscating number of weapons.
The unit has recorded about 36 arrests on a range of charges including assault, possession of drugs and stolen property, malicious damage to property and theft, confiscations of 380 metres of cable and 800 kilograms of railway signal cable, among other successes, according to the Western Cape transport and public works.
“The people of Cape Town deserve a safe and reliable public transport system. The REU’s successes to date give me a good reason to believe that this unit will assist us in stabilising the urban rail service over the next few months,” said Plato.
“With less crime and vandalism, we can expect delays and cancellations to decrease, expect commuters to use trains.”
Metrorail Western Cape regional manager, Richard Walker, added: “With enforcement on track, the next priority should be closing down non-compliant scrap dealers and lobbying for legislation which only permits traceable payment methods.
ANA